SPECIAL NEEDS in FOOD

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

This means that the person cannot eat a 'normal diet' due to medical reasons, religious reasons or a condition they find themselves in at any particular time.
Below are some of the special needs mostly commonly found -

PREGNANCY

Women need a very special diet - they are eating for two - not double the amount of food eaten but double the amount of nutrients, such as iron for the blood, calcium for the baby's bones and teeth, plus fibre and extra protein for the mother.   Look at the RDI charts and see the difference!

OLD AGE

Eldery people need less calories per day, but they need nutrients found in milk, cheese and oily fish which helps keep their bones from breaking, and vitamin C in some form per day, e.g. fruit juices, as their teeth may not be able to eat too much fruit and vegetables.

VERY YOUNG

This category need special attention:  babies grow at an alarmingly quick rate and so their intake of nutrients must cope with this -lots of protein for cell growth: calcium for bones and teeth, and iron for healthy blood.

VEGETARIANS

These are people who choose to follow a certain type of diet:  vegetarians can be  lacto-vegetarians and ovo-vegetarians, or even just plain vegetarians!   Lacto ones will eat milk products: ovo ones will eat eggs:  people who are just vegetarians may decide not to eat these products or on the other hand, eat them:  and will even include fish in their diets.
But mostly they try and avoid animal products like butter, cheese, meat, poultry and game.

VEGANS

This is a person WHO DOES NOT EAT ANY ANIMAL FOOD WHATSOEVER and will even shun wearing leather such as shoes and belts.   The person needs to know a lot about nutrition so that they have a complete diet and do not suffer from a deficiency of any one nutrient  - example iron and calcium found mostly in animal foods.

COELIACS

A person is usually born with this complaint or develops it over a number of years.    They are unable to tolerate the gluten found in wheat flour and wheat products.   Wheat is the one grain that contains a lot of gluten - the protein when mixed with water and kneaded (bread) produces an elastic dough.   They must find alternatives like potato flour and rice flour.    The lining of the intestine cannot absorb and break down the gluten and instead the lining can become ulcerated and be very painful for the sufferer.

DIABETICS

A person can be born with their pancreas not producing enough insulin to break down the sugar and CHO found in food, or they can develop the complaint later on in life.    The diabetes can be controlled with diet, drugs or insulin.   The person who has to inject insulin must control their intake of food to match the amount of insulin they have.    If on a diet and drugs, blood sugars need to be taken several times a day to see how the body is coping with breaking down the sugars and CHO.
Very sugary foods should be avoided.